In February, Walmart announced that they are going to cut 20 million metric tons from their global supply chain - an action that, if successful, will eliminate the equivalent of the annual emissions of 3.8 million cars. Walmart is making its stores more energy efficient and using renewable energy including on-site solar panels. So why is Walmart looking outside their four walls for deeper emissions cuts? Because that is where most of their emissions come from.
For most people, the carbon impact of the their indirect emissions is more than twice their direct emissions. But if your business is selling goods at the scale that Walmart does, then this figure gets much higher. Therefore, it makes sense that Walmart would look to their supply chain to reduce their emissions; everyone should look at the goods they buy and think about the carbon footprint associated with them. Speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Green business conference this week in Laguna Niguel, Calif., Wal-Mart Chairman Lee Scott said, "What Walmart has done is approach this from a business standpoint... If we as a company focus on waste, we can make Walmart a better company and at the same time, become a better citizen."
Carbonfund.org honed in on supply chain emissions in 2007 by developing the CarbonFree® Product Certification Program. The program allows companies to calculate the emissions of their product through a rigorous life-cycle assessment and reduce, offset the per-product emissions by supporting high quality carbon reducing projects. The program has been successful to date, and we have certified nearly 100 products that are available in a total of 15 countries, including mobile phones from Motorola, Domino Sugar, Anvil apparel, Grounds for Change Coffee and others.
For more information about the products program, please visit www.carbonfund.org/products.

Did you know the average adult receives about 41 pounds of unwanted, or junk, mail each year? Carbonfund.org partner 41pounds.org helps you stop delivery, saving you time, paper and space in your mailbox!
The cost for five years is $41, which works out to $8.20 a year. $15 of the fee can be donated to a charity partner such as Carbonfund.org. You get to choose the charity during check-out. 41pounds.org also provides a money-back guarantee: their service will eliminate most, i.e. 80-95%, of junk mail including catalogs. The service can cover your entire household for those five years, even if you move, get married or change your name.
Reducing paper waste is a great way to reduce what you can, offset what you can't. Check out 41pounds.org today, and reclaim your mailbox! Learn more about ways you can reduce your carbon footprint by visiting www.carbonfund.org/saveenergy.

Maybe I’m a bit of a romantic, but I love almost everything about weddings and wedding planning. But weddings can quickly get very expensive for both your wallet and the planet. With the wedding season rapidly approaching I’m sure there are a lot of brides out there wondering how they can make their wedding a little greener and easier to plan.
Need some ideas about how to reduce your footprint and the cost for your spring wedding? Think about using flowers that are in season and grown locally. If you’re planning a spring wedding think tulips, daffodils or, my personal favorite, peonies! Also consider purchasing a used or sample dress. My own gown was a sample which meant that I could afford a designer gown on a very small budget. You can even rent your dress for the big day!
Carbonfund.org Partner, The Green Bride Guide, offers tons of ideas like these to help you plan your perfect green wedding. From pictures and stories about real green weddings, to articles and advice on eco-chic decor, and a wide range of eco-friendly products, check out the online guide today.

Temperatures are hot here in Washington, DC. So hot that some people are asking whether the heat wave that is currently gripping the East Coast is a sign of climate change. New York, for example, experienced 92 degree heat yesterday, breaking an 81-year record.
Since the 1850s, the hottest decades on record have come within the last 20 years. The 2000's were the hottest on record, with the 1990's nipping at their heels for the heat record. The start of the new decade also produced record highs, with January registering as the warmest it has ever been in 32 years of satellite recording. And since Jan. 1 of this year- over 2,100 daily US heat records have been broken! It is disturbing trends like this that have climate scientists and average citizens concerned about climate change, and ready to take action.
So while the heat wave this week may not, on its own, be the result of global warming, it is part of a trend that our climate is changing. And if the continued loss of glaciers at Glacier National Park in Montana is any indication, you should visit your favorite climate threatened locations ASAP.

Our CarbonFree® Partner evo builds on its 3.5 year partnership with Carbonfund.org to help us plant one million trees. If you’re looking for some great skis, snowboards, or wakeboards, you can join the effort by donating $0.50 at checkout. Evo will match each of these donations for a total of $1 to plant a tree as part of Carbonfund.org's Million Tree Challenge.
Evo is committed to maintaining a healthy natural environment because the sports they love depend on it! While the ski, snowboard and wakeboard industries are far from perfect, a growing number of brands that evo carries are produced with the environment in mind. Some of the industry leaders in this regard include: Patagonia, Bond Outerwear, Arbor Snowboards, Lib Tech Snowboards, Gnu Snowboards, Surface Skis, and Liberty Skis.
If you want to join evo and Carbonfund.org in the Million Tree Challenge, you can plant your own tree too! Just visit our page at www.carbonfund.org/trees and plant as many trees as you’d like for $1 each.

The price of oil and gas continues to creep up all over America - causing a variety of ripple effects on American wallets and emissions. The cost of oil is up to over $86 a barrel, the highest levels since 2008, and pundits are predicting that we will reach the untenable $100 a barrel price point before too long. This is causing gas prices to shoot up nationwide. The Pacific Northwest and parts of the East Coast, for example, are seeing gas prices over $3; Michigan and Missouri are not far behind that price for a gallon.
It seems like ages ago that we were dealing with $4 gas - but in reality that was only in 2008. As gas prices shot up, Americans started driving less, purchasing more fuel efficient cars, and tried to maximize the efficiency of their necessary car trips. The unfortunate reality is that we are likely going to have to deal with high fuel prices in the future, potentially the very near future, so the steps we take today to reduce our dependence on gas will have enormous effects moving forward.
The good news is that we can change. In April 2008, in response to higher gas prices, Americans drove 20 billion fewer miles than they did the previous April. That is a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions; for tips on how to get better gas milage or reduce your emissions, click here.

Examiner Columnist Jenny Rough provides her seven eco-friendly travel tips to reduce one's carbon footprint. She asks readers to consider food's carbon footprint, which travelers sometimes forget when on the road. For example, eating locally grown foods or dining at restaurants that emphasize locally grown foods in their menus can help minimize the carbon footprint. She also suggests using refillable bottles for everyday needs like shampoo, etc.- a good idea as it can be difficult sometimes to find recycling bins or stations when traveling.
Providing resources that readers can use in planning their trips, she mentions Carbonfund.org to reduce, offset one's carbon footprint. Check out her travel ideas here: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/entertainment/living/See-green-while-traveling-green-89702102.html. Also, please visit our website to learn more about your carbon footprint, and try our carbon calculators.

The Obama administration and the EPA have officially moved to improve vehicle fuel economy standards, which would save drivers money on gas and reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the lifetime of a vehicle. The improvement will require automakers to provide new vehicles with a fleetwide average of 35.5 miles per gallon (MPG) by 2016, up from 27.3 MPG in 2011 - about a 30% gain in fuel efficiency.
While critics of the move quickly point out that the improvements in technology would add to the prices of vehicles, the savings in fuel will more than offset the initial cost of the vehicle. The New York Times reports that owners of a new car that meets the higher fuel efficiency standard in 2016 will save about $3,000 in fuel over the life of their car - all while polluting less. In aggregate, the new vehicles sold are expected to help save roughly a billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions.